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Props Survive Airport Security — Parallax Forums

Props Survive Airport Security

HumanoidoHumanoido Posts: 5,770
edited 2012-01-18 18:45 in General Discussion
Sometimes the more agreeable you can be and the less you say are your greatest assets.

http://humanoidolabs.blogspot.com/2012/01/big-brain-survives-airport-security.html

Comments

  • mindrobotsmindrobots Posts: 6,506
    edited 2012-01-16 05:40
    Sometimes the more agreeable you can be and the less you say are your greatest assets.


    An excellent lesson for the Brains to learn....I wish we could teach it to our 10 year old daughter!!

    Congratulations on your safe arrival!!
  • SRLMSRLM Posts: 5,045
    edited 2012-01-16 09:24
    The fun part is taking it out on the plane and doing some wiring at your seat. Then you get to watch the uncomfortable looks of your neighbors and the flight attendants...
  • bill190bill190 Posts: 769
    edited 2012-01-16 10:32
    SRLM wrote: »
    The fun part is taking it out on the plane and doing some wiring at your seat. Then you get to watch the uncomfortable looks of your neighbors and the flight attendants...

    I wouldn't do that!

    One guy was detained by security just because of the title of a book he had in his bag!

    Then another guy was reading some news story in his seat in the plane. Then the lady next to him looked over, saw what he was reading, then told him she did not like people like him! (Assuming because he was reading the article, he was one of those people too.)

    I forget what the book and article titles were. Anyway keep in mind how "brainless" some people are.

    Also if you have a friend named "Jack" and see him get on your plane, DO NOT say "Hi Jack"! :smile:
  • Peter KG6LSEPeter KG6LSE Posts: 1,383
    edited 2012-01-16 11:10
    Hi JACK !!!!


    I have a better one // I had to ask a TSO where my gate was at MSP on break last month ... ..

    He said C4 ........ Oy ..........

    this is why I refuse to fly and deal with People whom have no common Sense .


    and Yes on the way back I opted out ..... .
  • Oldbitcollector (Jeff)Oldbitcollector (Jeff) Posts: 8,091
    edited 2012-01-16 11:49
    bill190 wrote: »
    I wouldn't do that!

    On my last flight, I DID get away with doing some Propeller stuff using a "cased" C3. Because it didn't look much different from a typical portable hard drive, I only had one person look me over then shrug.

    I definitely would NOT start working on a Protoboard (or the like) on a flight. I'm guessing you'd find out if you have an air marshal on board pretty quickly. :)

    OBC
  • LeonLeon Posts: 7,620
    edited 2012-01-16 11:54
    I've only been stopped once at a check-in despite traveling with lots of equipment many times, and that was when I was traveling to Paris via Eurostar (Channel Tunnel railway). My suitcase was X-rayed and I was asked to open it, because I had a large ARM prototyping board in it with lots of holes which showed up clearly, and the check-in lady had never seen anything like it before. She was quite happy when I showed her what it was.

    I forgot about the last time I flew, when I had to remove an aerosol. I had some Propeller kit with me and somehow my Prop Plug fell out. I only noticed it was missing when I unpacked my stuff. :(
  • mindrobotsmindrobots Posts: 6,506
    edited 2012-01-16 11:58
    Last time I flew, I got busted for shampoo and body wash (big bottles).....forgot the 3oz rule. Glad I didn't have any toys in my bag that day, the security folks seemed a bit grumpy!
  • Heater.Heater. Posts: 21,230
    edited 2012-01-16 12:06
    We have a duty to fly with as much weird stuff as possible. Just to keep them on their toes and prevent us from all becoming subservient sheep.
  • prof_brainoprof_braino Posts: 4,313
    edited 2012-01-16 13:42
    When my 90 year old grandmother came to visit, she told us that airport security confiscated her knitting bag.
    When I call to find out why, they said they were concerned that she might knit an Afghan.
  • SRLMSRLM Posts: 5,045
    edited 2012-01-16 13:55
    As long as the tools that you bring are small, you can bring screw drivers, pliers, strippers etc. onto the plane. If you do it right (wrong?) then it's not difficult to figure out what TSA looks for and get around it. And electronics with lots of loose wires aren't illegal either. I've pulled it all out and done wiring and programming with my netbook and wire stripping and all sorts of "suspicious" things without a problem. I suspect part of that is that I didn't make a fuss, and part of it is racial profiling.

    You're also allowed to take pictures anywhere along your journey, including during airport security. There's a very informative TSA manual that was leaked a number of years ago that was used to train new agents.

    I've opted out every time. When you do, they specifically don't let you through the metal detector and do a full body pat down instead. So, what about internal cavities?
  • LeonLeon Posts: 7,620
    edited 2012-01-16 13:59
    prof_braino wrote: »
    When my 90 year old grandmother came to visit, she told us that airport security confiscated her knitting bag.
    When I call to find out why, they said they were concerned that she might knit an Afghan.

    That reminds me of a graffito that someone once saw which read:

    "My mother made me a homosexual."

    Underneath, someone else had written:

    "If I get her the wool, will she make me one?"
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2012-01-16 14:40
    prof_braino wrote:
    When my 90 year old grandmother came to visit, she told us that airport security confiscated her knitting bag.
    When I call to find out why, they said they were concerned that she might knit an Afghan.
    I can understand their concern. Afghans are too large to fit under the seat and would howl inconsolably if stuffed into an overhead compartment:

    220px-312-Zoophoto.jpg

    Plus, they probably shed -- a lot!

    -Phil
  • kwinnkwinn Posts: 8,697
    edited 2012-01-16 16:11
    Humanoido wrote: »
    Sometimes the more agreeable you can be and the less you say are your greatest assets.

    http://humanoidolabs.blogspot.com/2012/01/big-brain-survives-airport-security.html

    Those are two of the three cardinal rules to follow when flying. The third rule is to request any possibly suspicious baggage (test equipment, parts, etc.) be inspected at the special/oversize luggage check in. It's the only way to make sure it arrives when you do. It is also the only place I may provide more than a direct answer to a direct question.
  • Martin_HMartin_H Posts: 4,051
    edited 2012-01-16 16:16
    Boston has had two incidents with security people freaking out over electronics they didn't understand. In both cases they prosecuted people with "posession of a hoax device". In one case a 19 year old MIT student was at Logan with a T shirt with a proto board stuck to it with some random circuits on it. Silly looking, but only a complete idiot would think it was a threat.

    But once arrested the prosecutor didn't seem to have any more sense. For a year they kept pressing charges and told her she was lucky enough to not be in a morgue. In the end they dropped charges if she did community service and wrote a letter of apology.
  • TtailspinTtailspin Posts: 1,326
    edited 2012-01-16 21:07
    This little thing...
    underwaterscooter.jpg

    stuffed in a carry on bag really wakes up the security team.. Try it sometime if you ever get to fly to Hawaii, it's a treat.
    Panic and terror turn to Joy and wonder... I've seen it done three different times now, The first one was bright RED...

    -Tommy
    underwaterscooter.jpg
    500 x 500 - 16K
  • Martin_HMartin_H Posts: 4,051
    edited 2012-01-17 07:37
    Tommy, that looks a bit like the gluon gun from Half Life!
  • Duane DegnDuane Degn Posts: 10,588
    edited 2012-01-17 07:58
    Okay Tommy, I give up. What is that thing?

    It does look cool. I'm guessing it's a self-propelled underwater camera with the monitor sitting on top of it. I can't make out the text in the photo to look it up.
  • TtailspinTtailspin Posts: 1,326
    edited 2012-01-17 08:00
    They do look a little bit like something from a science fiction game, I first saw them on TV, a show called Sea Hunt.

    I know that the sea-doo does affect the half life of some of the fish I encounter...:smile:

    edit: That thing is an underwater, hand held(both hands), propulsion unit, very powerfull,
    it will drag you and your sling(or camera) down to ear pop level in seconds...


    -Tommy
  • localrogerlocalroger Posts: 3,452
    edited 2012-01-18 16:38
    Once on a trip to Arizona we stopped in a rock shop and found a perfect gift for a friend who likes mineral specimens, a beautiful polished round Malachite specimen about 6 inches across and weighing close to 5 kilograms. Since Malachite is soft the polish is easily ruined so my wife wrapped it carefully in layers of thin foam and tape before putting it in my carry-on so it wouldn't get lost. Well, big round things that are opaque to X-rays are kind of suspicious, and I got pulled aside and had to laborious undo all the wrapping to show the TSA guys what it was. They were pretty cool about it, considering what it must have looked like on the X-ray, concluding with this bit of conversation:

    TSA: Well you're right, it is beautiful. Is it chemically reactive?

    Me: It's completely inert, like most rocks.

    TSA: Is there any way it could be dangerous?

    Me: Well, you could hit someone over the head with it I suppose.

    Our friend got his Malachite specimen for Christmas, which fortunately didn't get scratched in its unpadded journey.
  • zoopydogsitzoopydogsit Posts: 174
    edited 2012-01-18 18:24
    For a number of years my brother and I used to exchange a personal cheque and a garden gnome for Christmas. The cheque was filled out and signed, the gnome was about 1 foot long and made of concrete and painted in dreadful bright colors. Each year we'd happily exchange the other gift, saves being creative or wasting money on something no-one really wants. One year I decided to fly rather than drive and took the gnome with me as carry on luggage, the security scanning people quietly talked between eachother and then asked to inspect my bag. When they found out what it was one of the guys called out "yes" I picked it from the x-ray! Clearly they saw it as a challenge. One year the gnome got swiped from my brothers garden which ruined our little game, so we now exchange an expired gift voucher instead. Good thing though, I don't think the airline folks would be keep on hand carried concerete gnomes.

    Another year (early 90's) when visiting my brother he asked for me to bring some tools to look at his TV that was intermittently playing up. Figuring it was likely to be a dry joint or a dried out electrolytic or improperly cooled power transistor I decided to bring a soldering iron, roll of solder, multimeter, a tube of thermal gel, some wire and a bunch of electolytics, and some tools. I packed them tightly into a box and as I only was there for a few days then it was going in hand luggage. The x-ray guys went nuts - they were not happy. I guess they'd never seem a multimeter, roll of solder wire and other bits on an x-ray before. I happily explained and showed it to them. I guess you'd probably have bigger issues these days.

    Last time I flew to the UK (probably 2007) when there was the sudden restriction on gels and liquids, I remember being in a queue, having to dispose of my toothpaste, water, deoderant, duty free gift bottle of perfume, and noticed a poor 90+ year old being frisk searched because her wheelchair set off the metal detectors. Seemed very silly for the poor lady. Then again, it's now the safest time to fly.
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2012-01-18 18:45
    Maybe Archie Bunker had the right idea all along:

    :)

    -Phil
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